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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

An intimate and humanizing look into the rise to fame of adult film superstar Stacy Valentine. The wheels were set in motion when Stacy's then-husband, to satisfy his own sexual fantasy, urged his Oklahoma housewife, Stacy Baker, to submit her photograph to Gallery Magazine's amateur pictorial competition, voyeuristically named, "The Girl Next Door." Easily winning this contest, Stacy was soon gracing the cover of Hustler magazine and accepting offers to perform in X-rated films. The Girl Next Door is the conflicting story between Stacy Baker and the world of pornography, and Stacy Valentine and her desire for true love. Stacy allows us to experience the exotic world of pornography through the eyes of a former housewife from Oklahoma.

Review

The Girl Next Door represents a sincere and enlightening portrait of a complex individual. Her stage name is "Stacy Valentine", and her list of credits list includes exactly 69 adult movies, including a number of popular titles. She has been working in the industry since the 90 s when she escaped from an abusive marriage in Oklahoma and surfaced in Hollywood. It was there that documentary filmmaker Fulgate made contact with her, and the result is a fascinating chronicle of two years in Stacy's life, including highs (such as her winning the "Hot D'Or" award for Best American Starlet at the Cannes Film Festival) and lows (her breakup with her boyfriend). Stacy gives Fugate surprisingly candid access, allowing the director to film her during some of the darkest moments of this period. Although The Girl Next Door's primary goal is to offer a well-rounded cinematic representation of Stacy The Person (not just Stacy The Porn Star), the cameras also reveal something about the world around her. Without being judgmental, Fugate gives us an unvarnished look into the heart of the porn industry. The Girl Next Door isn't an expose, nor is it intended to be - the movie doesn't dwell on drugs, violence, and sleaze. Instead, it depicts the hollowness of this lifestyle. All that glitters is not gold, and, in this case, the glamour is all artificial and the adoration is skin deep. Just as nothing about the industry is real, nothing about "Stacy Valentine" is either - not her name or her body. Fugate's job is to peel away the porn star personality warn like a gaudy garment by Stacy Baker and reveal the naked character of the girl underneath. Stacy Valentine is a product of her environment - her breasts have been augmented more than once, her thighs and legs have been liposuctioned, and her lips have been injected with fat removed from her hips. On one occasion, she mentions that she hardly recognizes herself when she looks in the mirror. Initially, Stacy seems like a well-adjusted young woman who enjoys and is fulfilled by her chosen career. She's sexually proficient, so that's what she does for a living. ("I know I'm good at sex...I'm very confident about my sexual capabilities.") She doesn't want a boyfriend, because her marriage has instilled in her a deep mistrust of men. So, in her words, "If I'm horny, I go to work. If I want affection, I've got my cats." Gradually, however, the cracks in her façade begin to show. Her sense of self-esteem is easily bruised (hence all of the plastic surgery). She wonders what the future holds - the shelf life of a porn star is short. Her hopes for a long-term relationship with a fellow X-rated film actor named Julian crumble. And, most of all, she craves something she cannot define. She senses the emptiness around her but can't quite break free. The Girl Next Door is peppered with scenes that are memorable for one reason or another. There's an unrehearsed heart-to-heart between Stacy and her mother that ends up with both of them in tears as they confront their mortality. (Stacy's mother is ambivalent about her daughter's career - she professes her support, but she's clearly not comfortable with it.) In Cannes, Stacy confesses her misgivings about prostituting herself for a wealthy fan because she needs the money. And, during a telling scene on a film set, Stacy services an actor while Julian looks on with an expression of unmistakable anguish. Through it all, Fugate's cameras are rolling, and it becomes increasingly obvious that filmmaker and subject have formed a strong bond. Fugate never appears on screen, her presence is felt throughout. Her perspective is ours. --James Berardinelli, Philadelphia

"The Girl Next Door" follows a subject getting a lot of attention in documentaries these days. The world of porn. For two years, director Christine Fugate followed Stacy Baker and documented her transformation from an Oklahoma housewife with an abusive husband to the heights of porn stardom as Stacy Valentine. The film does not sugarcoat Stacy's life in any way. We see her unsuccessfully try to maintain a relationship with her boyfriend while still "acting." By the end, I really felt sorry for this woman who is so desperate for recognition that she travels all the way to France to receive an award for her work in adult films. I was also shocked to learn that those moans of pleasure we hear in adult films are often fake, proving that thos thespians who appear in porn can act after all. We also observe Stacy's pursuit of the perfect body as she goes through numerous surgeries for breast enhancement and liposuction. These scenes are graphic and startling. Any thoughts I had about getting breast implants have completely disappeared after seeing this film. "The Girl Next Door" is a compelling documentary that tells its story without being exploitive. (Which is really difficult considering the amount of nudity in this film, but trust me, it's not erotic.) "Scared Straight" taught young boys about the dangers of a criminal life and the world inside prison. "The Girl Next Door" could be for girls what "Scared Straight" is for boys, showing the dangers of certain lifestyles. Any girl even considering entering adult films as a profession should see this film so that they are aware of the harsh realities. --Chris Gore, Film Threat

5 Stars. Intelligent, well-made film, fascinating. This film makes my top ten list and is a heartbreaking journey into a world seldom seen. --Mick LaSalle, SF Chronicle

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

Stacy Valentine is a small town girl from Oklahoma who leaves her unhappy marriage to pursue a career in the adult industry. This doc alternates between scenes of her life as a porn star and aspects of her personal life, such as her on and off rocky relationship with a male porn actor.

Stacy comes across as a nice but neurotic young woman with serious emotional issues related to men, body image and trust. In other words, she is exactly the type of person who does not belong in the adult industry. But, on the other hand, she does manage to turn her 4 year stint in the porn biz into alot of money and an apparently lucrative career as a fashion designer. So it's difficult to feel too sorry for her.

In the end, Stacy seems to be a girl of average intelligence who (outside of her work) has fairly conventional values and leads a rather ordinary, even mundane, lifestyle. Personally I find someone like Nina Hartley, who views sex work not just as a job but a means of personal liberation, to be a more compelling subject than a regular gal like Stacy.

The story is at least intriguing enough to hold my interest. But Christine Fugate is a mediocre director and the editing is lousy. Basically, the film skips from scene to scene with no particular purpose. The soundtrack is lame and the plastic surgery footage is gory to the point of being unwatchable. A few scenes are mildly erotic. But if you are seeking out this film solely for it's sexual content then you should look elsewhere.

Just as porn star biographies seem to be hitting the book shelves with more frequency, the same apparently is true of the porn star film documentary. This time up, it's THE GIRL NEXT DOOR Stacy Valentine. Bored housewife from Oklahoma who, upon her husband's urging, discovered her love for taking it off for the camera. Talk about the cliche of getting what you wish for. Good-bye idiot husband. Hello porn!

THE GIRL NEXT DOOR follows Stacy around for her romp in porn and her alleged retirement (whether the retirement worked out, I cannot say). Although interesting, it suffers the same disadvantage as all other movies and books of this type, specifically that the subject herself, as well as those attracted to the same field, are not exactly geniuses of introspection. Stacy seems likeable and we all wish her the best. But she also comes off as painfully immature and more than a wee bit self-centered. In an environment in which her looks meant her business, perhaps it is no surprise that Stacy seems more often focused on herself rather than others, and more concerned with her appearance than something deeper. But whatever the cause, the end result is the same.

Too bad, because, again, she does seem rather nice as a regular person. At times, we see that side come out. Her scenes with her mom in particular display some evidence of an inner life. That side, though, remains hidden (non-existent?) to those outside that exceptionally small circle.

THE GIRL NEXT DOOR takes a more sympathetic angle when examining its subject (probably a necessity if the director wanted any cooperation from his star). One cannot help but smile when Stacy wins her award for being some Best Porn Star, or something like that, and sleeps with the trophy on the pillow next to her.Read more ›

Documentaries -- especially those in the caliber of late night 'Showtime' or 'HBO' infotainment (or 'skinertainment,' as I've heard it called) tend to suffer from one serious shortcoming: it's near impossible to take anyone serious, especially when it comes to having frank and open conversations ON CAMERA relative to the one of the world's most intimate acts: sex ... which does rank just behind love, yes.

However, GIRL NEXT DOOR manages to wiggle around (pun intended) this gray area throughout about 60-70% of the time by concentrating on the life of porn star (legend!) Stacy Valentine, who, quite frankly, is strikingly beautiful with or without clothes, for that matter. The best moments of this exploration of Stacy Baker's life (her real name) deal with Stacy discovering her passion for sex, her passion for working in the sex industry, and her passion for entertaining others. She speaks frankly to the camera in some wonderful moments that give the viewer a look at the psychology many women in the adult film industry must confront ... whether it be overly adoring fans, manufacturing (through plastic surgery) a better body (Stacy, you looked fine BEFORE the implants), and maintaining a positive self-image despite being secretly loved by hundreds of thousands of fans ... and still feeling quite empty. In these moments, you get to know Stacy Baker, not Stacy Valentine, and, call me old-fashioned, but that's the woman any man (or woman) could easily fall head over heels for. Stacy Valentine, on the other hand, steps comfortably into the world of adult business, and it became very hard to distinguish her from any of the other actors and actresses briefly covered in the film.Read more ›